Thursday, April 21, 2016

Dogs as Characters in Books and Senseless Dog Idioms

by Linda ThorneIn 2006 my friend Sandee from Denver came to visit
me when my husband and I lived in a town called Hanford in the Central Valley
of California. She was on her way to a friend’s wedding and talked me into going
with her. We drove to the home of the bride to be, Gailee, and her fiancé in
Atascadero, California. I not only got to meet the wedding couple and their families,
but Sandee and I

stayed after the wedding to tour that beautiful area of the
country. We made a trip to the Hearst Castle in nearby San Simeon and then
shopped in a lovely little tourist town called Cambria, close to the Ocean. While
window shopping I found the book, Marley
and Me, displayed in a gift shop window.The book cover had the face of a dog that looked so much like our dog
that had recently died. I felt

like singing that age old Doris Day song, “How
much is that Doggie in the Window.” The book captured me. I didn’t know what it
was about, had no idea it was a best seller, but I ran into the shop and bought it and read it within the next few days.

Dog lovers are everywhere. Doggie characters can help
sell a book, but that’s not why I put our deceased dog, Buffy, in my Judy
Kenagy book series. I put her in because it was my way to keep my doggie alive. Buffy
appears in my book trailer at: https://www.youtube.Just Another Termination

Speaking of dogs, there’s something I just have to
get off my chest. Forever, I’ve said things like: “That person talked to me
like I was a dog,” or, “I’ve been working like a dog, or someone was treated
like a dog.”

President
Obama said it in a different way publicly when he said, “They talk about me
like a dog.”

Look
up “work like a dog” online and it will define it in terms of struggle, hard
work, slave labor. The term is in dictionaries all over and is a negative term.

Of
course some dogs don’t have it as great as others, but for the most part we
talk to them like babies. They don’t have to work and get to lie around being
pampered, fed, let out for the bathroom. We give them a safe haven and protect
them and they know it. So, now, even when people talk to me badly (and believe
me it happens when you work in human resources), I’m having trouble saying I
was talked to like a dog. After watching our two pampered border collies, Abby
and Mo (picture below), lounge around doing nothing all day, every day, I doubt I’ll ever be
able to say the words again, “I’ve been working like a dog,” but the Beatles said it
in their famous song, A Hard Day’s Night. I can still here the beat filled tune with the words
that don’t ring true ... at all.

It's
been a hard day's night, and I been working like a dogBut when I get home to you I find the things that you do will make me feel
alright.

Some years ago I watched our rescue lab trying to dig up whatever he thought was hiding under a tree. He dug a giant hole and ripped out roots with his teeth, and kept on going. He nearly brought the tree down, but he never got the creature that went into hiding. I had to drag him away. I would never work that hard to catch a squirrel or a mouse. Our current dog barks at squirrels but nothing more. He sleeps near the door, just in case. That's his effort for the day.

Our dog has the life of Reilly, but he's so cute he can get away with it. Also, he's a good boy! I was going to do a book about Rascal, our last dog, but I had so many other books on the back burner I never got around to it. She might get into a book yet, but I've been trying to apply discipline and finish the books in the order I started them.

Thank you for stopping by. Until I read these comments I did forget about how hard they can work at tearing something up (like the tree roots) or going on a barking frenzy when the UPS guy shows up. I guess I was thinking of "work" in terms of being productive, which they’re not. :) Most of the time they are like Jacqueline’s dog, lounging around, eating and sleeping.

How about "Cat got your tongue?" Have no idea what that means, but in my house they've got most of the bed, all of the furniture, table tops and 8 varieties of food. I would say they are spending their 9 lives in luxury.

You got that right, Sunny. We have no cats now, but the cat idioms are about the same as with dogs. Totally off. Cats seem to be more conniving than dogs. They don't need to bark or whine, they sort of curl around your legs and let you know what they want in a softer way. Cats make great pets as characters in books too. I've always enjoyed the introduction of a cat or a dog personality in any short story or book.

My granddog, Rosie, is a border collie/springer spaniel mix and is a complete couch potato. She occasionally rouses herself to chase the cat a few feet but that's the most exciting exercise she has. Even her walks are little more than slow strolls in the neighborhood although she's driven to a few seconds of manic activity when confronted by that most fearful of horrors, a bird feather. I'm a cat person much more than dog but I must admit I love having her around ;-)

Nice to have your comment Lelia about granddog Rosie and your cat. A few words about pets brings out others wanting to share their experiences. I've read some things John Grogan wrote giving credit to the love of pets to his success with Marley and Me.

Thank you, Marilyn. We had a period of time after Buffy when we were petless and enjoyed the freedom. Before long though, we felt something was missing and we were out perusing the local pound looking at the animals wanting a home